Estelle Chalfin peeked into her refrigerator and realized with dismay that she had ample leftovers to feed at least 10 more people. She thought to herself, “There has to be something better than this.”

And there was.

Chalfin, a 30-year Palo Alto resident, founded the city’s annual Thanksgiving Day Community Dinner the following year.

“I had a little restaurant downtown [Captain Cosmos] and I kept seeing the homeless passing by,” she said. “I couldn’t feed them all year long, but I decided to have a Thanksgiving dinner for them. I wanted to make the meal the same as I’d feed my family.”

Chalfin, 76, served roughly 30 people in the event’s inaugural year. But word quickly got out about the homemade turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Now, more than 500 people partake in the festivities, which are co-sponsored by InnVision Shelter Network and Downtown Streets Team, a nonproft that helps homeless people find employment and housing.

“It’s such a good meal and everyone is so nice,” said Scott Burgess, who has attended the dinner for about 12 years. “I’ve known some of these guys for 20 years. These people are my family. I feel great being here.”

Burgess, 55, landed housing in San Jose a fortnight ago after spending 14 years homeless in Palo Alto, which he deemed “tough, especially when you start getting older.”

But he had a reason to be grateful every Thanksgiving and this year was no different.

On Thursday, a line stretched outside the All Saints Episcopal Church, at 555 Waverley Street, long before the doors opened at noon. People, homeless and otherwise, will line up for the leftover meal, which is served at 11:30 a.m. today, with the same anticipation, said Eileen Richardson, who volunteered at the event a decade ago and has been organizing it ever since.

Inside, Chalfin greeted diners Thursday and asked the homeless among them to take a woolen scarf or cap, knitted by community members. Nearby, colorful turkeys popped out of handmade cards donated by second-graders at Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School and a trio played live music from atop a stage.

Richardson said that nearly 200 volunteers, ranging from 6 to 83 years old, contribute to the dinner. Some cook food and drop it off, many hand out plates heaped high with food and others help to decorate and clean up the venue.

Marsha Alper, also of Palo Alto, who has been involved in the community dinner since its inception, noted, “Estelle insisted that everyone be served. It [is] not a buffet. Estelle felt that these were her guests and needed to be served.”

To that, Chalfin added, “I wouldn’t ask my family to stand up and get their own food. These people are my guests. They are my family.”

Norman Williams affirmed that a palpable camaraderie has encouraged him and scores of others to join in the fun. Looking around at his friends and the hot meal in front of him, he shook his head and chuckled quietly.

“It’s very different,” he said. “You don’t get this type of meal in prison.”

Williams was thinking back on the 13 years he spent in Folsom State Prison after being charged with auto burglary. It was his third strike,and he was sentenced to 25 years to life. After getting out early, the 51-year-old, who now lives in Palo Alto’s Opportunity Center, got involved with the Downtown Streets Team and cleaned up his act. He has been a familiar face at the Thanksgiving dinner since 2007.

“Miss Eileen makes this meal with all her heart,” Williams said. “You can tell that it’s made with love. We come here to show our appreciation and to get full.”

Kenneth Pierre, a U.S. Army veteran, said that the people who host the Thanksgiving meal each year are also those who gave him a new lease on life. Unable to earn an income after an 18-wheeler collided with his motorcycle, Pierre, 57, ended up living in shelters and the back seat of his car. He recalled, clear as day, having to sneak into a gas station restroom where he filled up the sink with water and wiped himself down, in lieu of showering.

Now, he is a volunteer for the Downtown Streets Team alongside Williams.

“It gives me great pleasure to be here, especially with all these people that come and donate their time to serve guys like me,” he said. “I’m single, I stay by myself, and I couldn’t afford to cook all this. When I come here, this means something to me — big time.”